A former presidential aspirant, Pat Utomi, has slammed the Nigerian police, while recounting 15 hours spent from Lagos to Asaba.
Naijaonpoint reports that Utomi, in a post via X, blamed bad roads and crude police extortion for a journey that should have taken a few hours.
Utomi stated that police extorted many commuters but they were trapped by immotorable roads and communities protesting electric power supply.
He wrote, “My car left Lagos at 5am. It has just arrived Asaba after 8pm. It had no breakdowns. It made Benin at 10.30. That was a 3hour drive in the 80s. But the real news is that it took 6hours to cross Benin. From police trying to extort money to terribly bad roads detty Dec got dirty.
“The police extortions were beyond crude: like why are you in Edo with Lagos license plate. Many coughed up money just to move on but were trapped by immotorable roads and communities protesting electric power supply.”
In other news, Utomi has dismissed the possibility of a one-party state in Nigeria.
In an interview with newsmen, he asserted that the wave of defections into the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) would not change the trajectory of Nigeria’s political field.
The economist said it is not possible for all political parties to collapse into the APC, noting that the ruling party will be challenged in 2027.
Utomi said he is prepared to stand alone, if necessary, to protect and preserve the country’s multi-party democracy.
“It will not happen. It will not happen. Even if I alone will be the opposition, I will be,” he said.